NATO to send more troops in Baltic states 40405161

Posted On
Wednesday, 04 May 2016 00:24

Defence & Security News - NATO

NATO to send more troops in Baltic states

NATO is planning to increase its presence in the Baltic region. According to officials, the Alliance plans to send around 4,000 soldiers in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, in an effort to reinforce its presence against Russia.

Lithuanian Land Forces conducted their first command post exercise with US and Danish staff between 6-7 April (Photo: US Army)

The US Deputy Secretary of Defence, Robert Work, made a particular reference to the Russian military exercises at the borders with the Baltic states, involving large numbers of troops, and considered them an extraordinary provocation. The NATO force will be comprised of two US Army battalions and two battalions from the UK and Germany.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said after the meeting with the Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis, that the German unit of 150-200 soldiers could probably be stationed in Lithuania. She also promised a greater German engagement within NATO’s framework and that her country would meet its obligations as agreed during the NATO Summit in Wales in 2014.

However, she stressed that the NATO deployment in the region must not send an escalation signal. It should also follow the NATO-Russian act of 1997, which bans allied forces to be permanently stationed in former Warsaw Pact countries. The further commitments will be defined in detail before the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July 2016, Chancellor Angela Merkel said.